Tomato, Sausage, & Spinach Soup – New Recipe!

By Michelle Sala, Certified Integrative Health Coach

It’s almost spring, but there’s still a little bit of soup weather left. I actually think this soup will ease nicely into summer as the tomatoes and spinach have a nice summery vibe. I created it with the main ingredients coming from Trader Joe’s, but you won’t have trouble finding comparable ingredients at your favorite grocery store.

The first time I made this soup, I made it more creamy by using less chicken stock. The second time I made it, I used the entire carton of chicken stock and it was more brothy. Both ways are good and it’s just a matter of personal preference. Add the broth AFTER you add the jar of sauce so you can adjust the thickness.

When buying store bought chicken broth or stock, look for ingredients such as yeast extract, hydrolyzed yeast protein, or any ingredient with “yeast”. These ingredients are MSG derivatives and considered excitotoxins. If you know you are sensitive to MSG, you need to be aware of these ingredients that are as bad as MSG. The “G” in MSG stands for glutamate, which is an amino acid, but in high concentrations it’s a problem.

Excitotoxins are a class of chemicals that overstimulate neuron receptors and can cause cell death and brain impairment. [1, 2] Excitotoxins also overstimulate our taste buds and cause us to crave food. I highly recommend that you check all labels of any processed food in a package and avoid these ingredients.

Foods naturally high in glutamates are tomatoes and mushrooms. These foods may be problematic if you suffer from migraines, joint pain or some chronic pain condition, but usually do not pose a problem for the average person when eaten in moderation.

I hope you learned a little about the dangers of excitotoxins, but mostly I hope you enjoy this extremely easy to make soup!

You can find the recipe here.

About Michelle

Michelle Sala is a Certified Integrative Health Coach and True Cellular Detox™ Practitioner. She can help you get to the root cause of your health issues, beat weight loss resistance, and learn a lifestyle that can help turn back the clock! She is available for a 30-minute complimentary consultation. You can contact her here.

[1] https://experiencelife.lifetime.life/article/excitotoxins/ 

[2] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7854587/